Duke of Zhenguan

Yong'anfang, the official residence of Leping County.

After hearing his subordinate's report, Butler Li De quickly walked to the front of the central courtyard's flower hall and respectfully called out:

"My lord, I have something to report!"

In the flower hall, Li Cang, the Duke of Leping County, lay on a folding chair. In front of him, his newly acquired concubine was intently playing the pipa.

In the center of the room, a woman dressed only in a thin shirt was wildly twisting her waist to the music.

Upon hearing the steward's voice, Li Cang waved his hand, and the concubine rose, waved to Hu Ji, and retreated behind the screen.

"Come in!"

Li Cang shouted outside.

Li De strode into the room and said respectfully:

"My lord! The matter you instructed us to investigate has been clarified!"

Li Cang immediately sat up straight and asked in a cold voice:

"explain!"

"The seller was a young man named Lin Chuan from Yanshoufang. His family had fled to Chang'an a few years ago."

Before the Lunar New Year, Lin Chuan and his father both caught a cold, so they borrowed money from Zhou Si to buy medicine.

Later, his father didn't make it, but he survived by sheer luck. He used the recipe his father left behind to brew two jars of wine and sold them to Chen Qi of Qunfang Pavilion. I heard that he made quite a bit of money and even paid off Zhou Si's debt!

On Thursday, I heard some news from somewhere and wanted to get the prescription from Lin Chuan to give to you!

Lin Chuan was cunning. He delayed until Thursday while taking the prescription to Chen Qi to make a deal, which is why the prescription ended up in the hands of Duke Xue.

"The reason why the magistrate of Chang'an County sent people to arrest Zhou Si must have been at the behest of Duke Xue!" Li De said in a deep voice.

"I see!" Li Cang exclaimed in realization.

After pondering for a moment, he asked again:

"What is this lowly commoner named Lin Chuan doing now?"

"Chen Qi gave him a shop in the West Market, and now he runs a noodle shop. A couple of days ago, some hooligans came to cause trouble, and it was Tian Hu, one of Chen Qi's men, who took care of them!" Li De, who had investigated thoroughly, said softly.

"So, Chen Qi is still protecting this lowly commoner?" Li Cang asked, frowning.

"It should be!" Li De replied, bowing.

Li Cang's expression was somewhat unpleasant. He was not afraid of Changsun Shunde, but he was afraid of Changsun Wuji, and even more afraid of Changsun Wugou, who was the empress.

The brother and sister have relied on each other since childhood, and their relationship is closer than that of ordinary siblings.

"My lord, there is one more thing!" Li De said, bowing.

"explain!"

"Today, I sent someone to keep watch at Lin's Noodle Shop. They discovered that Duke Su led more than ten guards to Lin's Noodle Shop in a menacing manner, and then took two young maids with him from Lin's Noodle Shop!"

"One of the maids might be the eldest daughter-in-law of the Duke of Su's mansion!" Li De said.

"The eldest daughter-in-law of the Duke of Su's mansion, is she the one who beat the son of the Marquis of Huaining County until he was impotent?" Li Cang asked in surprise.

"Your Excellency is wise; it is indeed her!" Li De said with a smile.

"So, the daughter of a nobleman like Cheng Yaojin has actually gotten involved with a commoner?" Li Cang asked gleefully.

"Very likely!" Li De nodded.

"Cheng Yaojin didn't kill this lowly commoner with a single blow? He's not that temperamental, is he?" Li Cang asked.

"Lin Chuan is still living a good life, but perhaps Duke Su has other ideas?" Li De said.

"Ha, his daughter kicked the son of the Marquis of Xiaoning County so hard that he became impotent. Now who would dare to marry that scoundrel Cheng Yaojin?"

"He probably just wants to throw caution to the wind and marry his daughter off to anyone so people won't laugh at him every day!" Li Cang said with a smile.

"What I'm thinking is that no matter what the Duke of Su thinks, if someone spreads this news all over Chang'an at this time, the reputation of the Duke of Su's mansion will be ruined!"

"Given Duke Su's temperament, even if he doesn't chop that brat Lin Chuan to pieces, he won't let him off easy!" Li De said in a low voice.

"We could try that. When we spread it, we'll say that Lin Chuan himself spread it!" Li Cang chuckled.

"Your Excellency is wise!"

……

As night fell, the vast palace fell silent, with only a few palaces still lit up.

In a side hall of Xiande Hall, Li Shimin was sitting cross-legged behind his desk, reviewing memorials.

Zhang Anan, dressed in a scarlet robe, entered the side hall and bowed to Li Shimin.

"His Majesty!"

"What is it?"

Li Shimin didn't even raise his head, and asked in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, the Hundred Cavalry Division has uncovered a strange case today!" Zhang Anan replied, bowing.

Li Shimin raised his head and nodded with interest:

Tell me about it!

After obtaining the recipe for brewing wine, Duke Xue informed the magistrate of Chang'an County, who then had a man named Zhou Si arrested and imprisoned. The next day, a notice was posted outside the county government office stating that Zhou Si had committed suicide out of fear of punishment!

According to the investigation by the people below, he did not commit suicide out of fear of punishment on Thursday, but was released by the jailers of Chang'an County Jail on the night he was arrested!

But no matter how hard the people below investigated these past few days, they couldn't find a single clue about Thursday! And on the night of the incident, a strange and eerie fire broke out in Tiechi Lane, Yanshoufang! "Zhang Anan said, bowing.

"Yanshoufang? I remember you reported a couple of days ago that this prescription was originally sold to Qunfangge by a young man from Yanshoufang?" Li Shimin asked suspiciously.

"Yes, this boy's name is Lin Chuan! He once owed Zhou Si 15 strings of cash in interest. After selling wine to pay it off, Zhou Si came to cause trouble again."

The people below also discovered that right after bringing people to the door on Thursday, this boy named Lin Chuan went to the West Market and bought lacquer, sugar, sulfur, and other items! "Zhang Anan said.

"So it seems we've been defeated by this young man this Thursday. That's quite interesting," Li Shimin said with a smile.

"It's very possible that this servant had someone mix lacquer, sugar, sulfur, and other substances together, producing a potency at least twice that of tung oil!" Zhang Anan said, bowing.

"really?"

Li Shimin jumped up from his throne and asked in surprise.

"This servant dares not speak presumptuously! This servant is having people adjust the proportions, and the power may be even greater!" Zhang Anan said respectfully.

"Haha, good, I'll give you credit for this!" Li Shimin laughed heartily.

"Your Majesty, there's another interesting story!" Zhang Anan suddenly said with a smile.

"explain!"

"In the evening, Duke Su went to the West Market with his personal guards..."

Zhang Anan vividly recounted to Li Shimin what happened at Lin's Noodle Shop in the evening, as if he were there himself.

"That's a misconception on the part of Duke Su. His daughter just went to eat noodles!"

"It should be!"

"Haha, this scoundrel is usually so shrewd, I never expected him to do something like this!" Li Shimin laughed heartily.

After laughing, Li Shimin suddenly asked in a suspicious tone:

"Is the owner of this noodle shop that young man named Lin Chuan?"

"right!"

"Interesting. Tomorrow is a day off. Go to the Duke of Su's residence and let him speak to me in person!" Li Shimin said with a smile.

"This servant will arrange it immediately!"

"No need for a big fuss!"

The next day, a rumor suddenly spread in the West Market that someone had gotten the young lady of the Duke of Su's mansion pregnant, which provoked the Duke of Su to lead his personal guards to storm the mansion.

Although Chang'an had hundreds of thousands of people, there weren't many novelties. Many people saw Cheng Yaojin riding through the city with more than a dozen personal guards, and the news made the rumors seem more credible.

With the help of some people, the rumors spread throughout Chang'an in just half a day.